Monday, 17 October 2016

Truth About Synthetic Diamonds

Touted as an eco-friendly alternative to natural diamonds, lab-grown diamonds or synthetic diamonds are gaining in popularity. They look identical to natural diamonds, and, according to manufacturers, are up to 30-40% cheaper than their naturally mined counterparts. According to independent research there's a catch: They're not cheaper at all. On average, synthetic diamonds are actually about 20% more expensive than comparable natural diamonds.

Companies selling lab-created diamonds are using looser grading-the International Gemological Institute-that gives higher grades than the Gemological Institute of America (GIA). When you compare apples to apples, they're actually more expensive.

Synthetic diamonds have little to no resale value. No jeweler will buy them back. From a value perspective alone, you would need to buy the lab-created diamond at a large discount to justify giving up the value retention of natural diamonds.